I was frustrated finding an AC unit to meet our needs so I came up with a new type that I am very happy with and want to share my idea.
Basically, it is a "portable" outdoor air conditioner made from a Window Unit. Existing portable AC units are housed indoors and blow hot air out a plastic hose. This creates excess noise and heat indoors as well as taking up living space. My unit is outside and blows cold air into the house. The noise level is very low in the house as the duct has a bend in it which I lined it with sound absorbing foam.
The AC unit is a 10,000 BTU 110v LG model from Home Depot. This window AC unit comes with a remote control which in general would be a waste to me, but it was absolutely required for this unique application.
I used conventional construction of 2x4 lumber, OBS and Hardi siding to weatherize the unit. This is not shown in this early video, but I feature in a part 2 video.
Most of the DIY AC units on Youtube consist of ice in a chest which have problems on many levels. No reason for an insulated chest as the idea is to melt ice to cool the room and the insulation just slows down that process. If you make the ice in your own frig that only heats up the house. If you buy the ice you will pay about $1 a pound and there is only 200 BTU of energy in a pound of ice. My unit puts out 10,000 BTU for only about 20 cents in electricity (mine is free as I have a solar system that has fully paid off after 6 years). My unit would still be 250 times cheaper than using ice if I had to purchase electricity at market rates.
The best alternative is probably a split system, but I didn't have a good way to install and they require more technical knowledge to install because you need to deal with a vacuum pump and Freon. Mine unit only requires basic woodworking skills. The duct that come from my unit is all out of wood so there is no sheet metal to cut or form. The window AC units are mass produced and highly refined and optimized.
Even if you didn't build the enclosure yourself, but hired a carpenter this unit might still pay off because carpenters are easier to hire than AC technicians when it is really hot.
A commercial version would just be a simple metal box with a hose coming out that would plug into a plastic duct that would fit in a window opening or a hole in your house wall. I have written several manufactures and no one so far is interested. I wrote LG first and got a letter back saying they don’t accept ideas from customers, which seems like an bad policy. I will no longer be an LG customer and will use another brand next time😊
I posted a video of my full custom proof of concept:
https://youtu.be/Q8aR52DqFWc
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Smart Meters not so Dumb
I am an electrical engineer, but not affiliated with the electrical utility or the smart meter industries. Most power companies have poor customer service and customer relations, but they are not the nefarious entities people make it out to be. They are highly regulated by the government.
This is to address the charges of health risks and other paranoia being propagated by some well-meaning members of the public.
The radio broadcast signal from a smart meter is an insignificant health risk. It is similar to sending a brief text message from a cell phone once a month. It is nothing like sending voice data or a picture from a phone. Also, the meter is outside the house, not pressed against your head.
Having the data sent out over radio waves (just like radio and television have been doing for years) saves utility workers from driving out to homes and going into backyards unannounced. This saves fuel and dollars, and is actually an increase in privacy. Vending machines, ATMs and gas pumps already send out similar broadcast signals.
The smart meter also will allow rates to be higher during the peak load time of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays and lower during the much longer off-peak period.
This new pricing will encourage people to shift demand to the non-peak times. This will save all of us money because we will need to build fewer power plants, and it will help prevent brown-outs and black-outs. It also will encourage people to install solar systems on their roofs as the peak output of photovoltaic solar panels just so happens to peak at the same time demand does. Smart meters are a win-win.
This is to address the charges of health risks and other paranoia being propagated by some well-meaning members of the public.
The radio broadcast signal from a smart meter is an insignificant health risk. It is similar to sending a brief text message from a cell phone once a month. It is nothing like sending voice data or a picture from a phone. Also, the meter is outside the house, not pressed against your head.
Having the data sent out over radio waves (just like radio and television have been doing for years) saves utility workers from driving out to homes and going into backyards unannounced. This saves fuel and dollars, and is actually an increase in privacy. Vending machines, ATMs and gas pumps already send out similar broadcast signals.
The smart meter also will allow rates to be higher during the peak load time of 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays and lower during the much longer off-peak period.
This new pricing will encourage people to shift demand to the non-peak times. This will save all of us money because we will need to build fewer power plants, and it will help prevent brown-outs and black-outs. It also will encourage people to install solar systems on their roofs as the peak output of photovoltaic solar panels just so happens to peak at the same time demand does. Smart meters are a win-win.
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